Mass Effect (Bhatia)
Introduction / Background The concept of literature has been greatly influenced by the “wired world” that we live in. Literature was once thought to only exist in the form of written words in books and manuscripts, but now has come to include things such as video games, comics, and other icons of popular culture. In the past an author would create a piece of work, publish it and it was up to the user to read and make something of it. Now we find that communities are forming around these works to not only discuss but to influence how the works are being created. Literature is getting to the point that it is starting to become more interactive. In many scenarios the fans of a certain piece of work have the influence to change an outcome and even shape the story as its being created. The notion of choice gives the users a sense of creativity that once was only realized by the creators. This is the idea behind a genre of video game known as an RPG, or better put a role playing game. In role playing games the user is put into a fictionalized world in which they are in charge of their own actions and every decision they make has an effect on how the game is played out. The main attraction to this genre is the customizability. Many users create their own character that best fits the persona they want to portray. This is analogous to the simulation aspects of some of the reading we discussed in class. For example, in Anda’s game the main character makes her character a hero even though she was far from it. The freedom to simulate who a person wants to be rather than who really is makes the interactions mean that much more to the user. Although there are negative aspects to this freedom, for example the people who are so obsessed with a game they have no life, the link between the author and the users have been so distinct. The author merely creates a set of tools for the users to use. For my final project I chose to write about my favorite role playing game, Mass Effect. Mass effect is a series of three games which are supplement with comics, novels, phone apps, and most importantly the fan communities that formed around it (for better or for worse). The story of Mass Effect takes place in the distant future. Humans have discovered these things called mass relays in space that allow them to travel faster than light and reach distant stars. They also discover alien races that sometimes friendly and other times not. The main plot of the story deals with an ancient threat to all sentient life known as the reapers. Like in all RPGs, Mass Effect allows its players to play as either a good guy (paragon) or as an evil character (renegade). My main focus for this project will be remediation of the game, the online communities that formed in response to the endings of the last game, and the interpretative disputes that explain the endings. Indoctrination Theory (Interperative Disputes) Fan Response (Knowledge Communites) Books and Comics (Remediation) References